Carolina in the Morning

"Carolina in the Morning" is a popular song with words by Gus Kahn and music by Walter Donaldson, first published in 1922 by Jerome H. Remick & Co.

The song debuted on Broadway in the elaborate and risqué musical revue The Passing Show of 1922 at the Winter Garden Theater. Vaudeville performers incorporated it into their acts and helped popularize it. Among these was William Frawley, who later sang it in Paramount Pictures' original version of The Lemon Drop Kid in 1934, as well as the 1952 episode "Ricky Loses His Voice" of I Love Lucy, and the 1963 season 3 episode "Evening with a Star" of My Three Sons, where it generated moderate attention.

Notable recordings when the song was new were made by such artists as Marion Harris, Van & Schenck, Paul Whiteman and the American Quartet.

"Carolina in the Morning" gradually became a standard, being revived regularly as a popular song into the 1950s. Al Jolson recorded it on June 11, 1947 and he featured it in the film Jolson Sings Again (1949). Danny Winchell had a hit with his version in 1952.

Other artists to have later successes with the song included Bing Crosby who recorded the song in 1956 for use on his radio show and it was subsequently included in the box set The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954-56) issued by Mosaic Records (catalog MD7-245) in 2009. He subsequently used it in his album A Southern Memoir. Other notable versions were by Dean Martin (for his album Swingin' Down Yonder), Jimmy Durante, Dinah Shore (for her album Dinah Down Home!), Judy Garland, and Danny Kaye.
In 1957, Bill Haley & His Comets recorded a rock and roll version. Freddy Cannon recorded this song on his debut 1960 album The Explosive Freddy Cannon.

It was also performed by Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore on The Dick Van Dyke Show and by Vivian Vance and William Frawley on I Love Lucy.